Mining business says wastewater would be captured and treated before its released into local waterways.

The Ohio EPA will hold a meeting to discuss plans for Enon Sand and Gravel to expand its mining operations in Mad River Twp. Bill Lackey/Staff

Posted: 4:00 p.m. Friday, February 02, 2018

More than 200 residents who packed Greenon Junior/Senior High School cafeteria Thursday night, many of them in opposition to a permit that would allow a company to discharge water from a proposed limestone mining operation.

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency held a public meeting to hear from neighbors about Enon Sand and Gravel’s permit request.

Mad River Twp. Trustee Kathy Estep spoke on behalf of the local trustees — and many in attendance — and said the township doesn’t approve of the additional mining.

Enon Sand and Gravel applied to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Mineral Resources Management in November 2016 to mine limestone at 4100 Fairfield Pike and to merge two existing permits into one. ODNR approved that permit last year.

Now the proposal is before the Ohio EPA to allow the company to discharge wastewater from the site that would eventually run into the Mad River.

Before water goes into the river, Enon Sand and Gravel President Dennis Garrison said, the water would be collected and treated.

“If approved, the ground and stormwater would be directed to a settling pond on the property where any fine matter is allowed to drop out of suspension,” he said in an email.

The mining would also be regulated by multiple government agencies, Garrison said.

The Ohio EPA decided to hold the hearing on Thursday because many people have voiced interest, agency spokeswoman Dina Pierce said.

“What we have right now is just an application for the permit and this is the very first stages,” she said. “We wanted to hold a meeting, tell people what is in the application and listen to people, hear their concerns.”

The next step involves the Ohio EPA examining the application and determining if it can write a draft permit, Pierce said. She said the EPA must follow Ohio laws when making the decision and if it decides the permit should move forward, another public hearing will take place to hear feedback on the draft permit.

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